Sewing-machine guide



G. H. CURTIS. SEWING MACHINE GUIDEl` Patented Deo. 20, 1892n STATESunica.

AtrnNr GEORGE H. CURTIS, OF NEV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGERMANUFACTURING COMPANY OF NEW JERSEY.

SEWING-MACHINEGUID.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 488,187, dated December20, 1892.

V Application filed July 9, 1892. Serial No. 439,449. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. CURTIS, a citizen of the United States,residing` at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSewing-Machine Guides, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Myinvention relates to that class of sewing machine guides which serveas gages against which the edge of the work will pass in being directedto the needles of sewing machines to cause the Work to be guided in astraight line, and my invention has for its object to provide a guide,of the class referred to, which at times may be depressed so as to beHush with the throat or work plate of the machine to permit certainparts of the work to pass over the same without obstruction.

- My invention is more particularly designed for use in stitching apiece of work or material having cross pieces attached to the undersidethereof and which extend beyond the edges of the same so that the saidcross pieces may depress the guide when they come to the same and thuspass over the said guide Without obstruction; this class of Workoccurring in connection with the stitching of material for gaiters forshoes.

In carrying my invention into effect I pro- Vide the throat or workplate of a sewing machine with an opening or recess into which the edgeguide extends, a portion of the said edge guide being normally above theupper surface of the throat or work plate. The guide is preferablycarried by a spring or spring arm which will easily yield when anyportion of the Work presses upon the upper portion of the said guide andsaid spring or spring arm and will thus permitthe said guide to bedepressed to a level with the upper surface of the work plate. The saidspring arm is preferably received in a recess in the throat or workplate so that it, as Well as the guide carried thereby, may be depressedflush with the said plate so as to offer no obstruction to the passageof the work. This spring arm is preferably attached at its outer end toa rigid arm extending from the throat or Work plate.

In the drawings Figure lis a plan View of a sewing machine throat platewith my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a similar view with theguide and spring arm removed. Fig. 3 is a front View of the throat platewith the guide attached thereto, and Fig. 4 is a side View of the same.Fig. 5 illustrates a strip of work of the character in connection Withwhich my improved guide is intended to be used. Fig. 6 is a sectiononline 6, Fig'. l.

A denotes a sewing machine throat plate of well known form provided withthe usual feed openings d and needle openings b.

Attached to the plate A is a rigid arm c to the outer end of which issecured, by a screw CZ, a spring arm e provided at its inner end withthe edge guidef which extends in to an opening or slot g in the throatplate A, said throat plate also being provided with a recess or groove hin which a portion of the spring arm e may lie, flush with the uppersurface of the plate, when the guidef is entirely depressed into theslot or opening g. The spring arm e is so formed as normally to hold theguide above the work plate, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, but when anypressure is applied to the upper surface of the guide or spring arm thelatter Willyield to permit the guide to be entirely depressed within theopening or slot g so that the uppersurface of the said guide will beflush with the upper surface of the throat or Work plate. The for wardend of the guide f is chamfered or rounded off at i so that that portionof the Work which is to ride over the said guide and depress the sameinto the opening g Will not catch on the said guide.

In practice it is usual to provide the presser foot which is to be usedin connection with my improved guide with a slight recess on itsunderside into which the guidejl is partly received so that the saidpresser foot serves to limit the upward movement of the guide under thestress of the spring arm e.

In the use of my improved guide a strip of work M is to be presented tothe stitch forming mechanism of sewing machines in such a manner as toform one or more seams m along the edge thereof. This strip of materialis provided with cross piecesNwhich have previously been attachedthereto and which are IOO on the underside thereof as the work ispresented to the needles of the machine. The edge m of the strip M ispressed against the guidefas the work is moved forward with the needles,but when one of the cross pieces N on the underside of the strip Mreaches the said guidef the said cross piece will ride up the inclinedforward edge of the said guide, and, as the said cross piece passesbeneath the presser foot, will depress the guide into the recess oropening g of the work plate, thereby permitting the crosspiece to passunobstructedly; and when the strip M has been fed forward so that saidcrosspiece is beyond the rear edge of the guide the latter, beingreleased therefrom, will instantly assume its normal positionpartiallyabove the work plate under the stress of the spring arm e readyto perform its usual function to direct the edge of the strip M.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patentz l. The combination witha sewing machine throat plateprovided with an opening or recess, and with a grooveextendingtherefrom, of a guide extending into the said opening orrecess, a spring arm by which the said guide is carried and which isarranged above the said groove so that it will be depressed therein whenpressure is applied to the upper surface of the guide or to the saidspring arm.

2. A sewing machine throat or work plate A provided with the rigid arrnc and with the opening g and the recess or groove h extending from thesaid recess or opening g, combined with the spring-arm e attached at itsouter end to the said arm c and extending partly above said groove h,and the guide f carried by the said arm and extending into the saidrecess or opening g.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses. Y

GEORGE H. CURTIS. Witnesses:

J oHN A. REID, J oHN J. SHAW.

